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Friday, May 02, 2008

The International Food Policy Institute (IFPRI) in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and national experts identified and analyzed plant breeding and biotechnology programs in four developing countries: Cameroon, Kenya, the Philippines, and Venezuela. IFPRI examined the investments in human and financial resources and the distribution of resources among the different programs, as well as the capacity and policy development for agricultural research in the four selected countries. The report by Jose Falck Zepeda and colleagues recommends ways to help sustain and increase the efficiency of publicly- and privately-funded plant breeding programs, while maximizing the use of genetic resources and developing opportunities for genetically modified (GM) crop production. IFPRI says that policy makers, private sector breeders, and other stakeholders can use this information to prioritize investments, consider product advancement, and assess the relative magnitude of the potential risks and benefits of their investments.